METAL PULP AND PAPER: Hello Mayara. So glad to be catching up with you. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for Metal Pulp And Paper. We appreciate it.

How are you, how are things going for you and your band? Everyone happy and healthy?

MAYARA "UNDEAD" PUERTAS: Hello! We are all very well, working hard. Thank you for the interview invitation and patience!

MPAP:Far Beyond Existence, which we’ll talk more about in a bit, has been out since July 13th of this year. How are you feeling about it since it’s been out on the streets for four months now?

MAYARA: We are very happy with the new release, we are working hard and touring to spread the new CD out. We have recently released two songs as lyric video for "Blood Sacrifice" and "Cursed By Disease" which are having a great response. A fan had put on his YouTube channel our new CD and reach 10,000 views quickly and it’s still growing. We are very happy to share this with the headbangers all over the world.

MPAP: Before we go any further, let’s back up a bit and first talk about your band that you scream in the mic for. TortureSquad has been around for a while and is a powerful death/thrash metal band that formed in 1993 in São Paulo, Brazil. What else can you tell us about Torture Squad for the ones that might not have heard of you just yet because they were stuck somewhere under a rock? What do you want to say to that person, so they will want to open their eardrums and want to get pummeled with your music?

MAYARA:Torture Squad is one of the bands that started playing the style death/thrash in Brazil, a band with a unique personality. I've always been a fan of the band, I saw them as a "Brazilian metal team" (as in the world Cup soccer). Torture Squad was the only Brazilian band which had played three times at WackenOpen Air and also have made many tours around Europe and South America conquering fans where they are. Today I’m with them dominating the screams, and I can assure that we are full of energy to continue kicking asses and breaking necks with brutal metal! And I can say: Torture Squad is eviler than ever!

MPAP: You haven’t been with the band since its brutal inception, but you would soon join the Torture Squad ranks as the new vocalist in 2015? What was that day like for you when you knew you were going to be the vocalist and take the earth by storm?

MAYARA: It was a pleasant surprise that have changed my life. I've been in another death metal band called Necromesis, but Torture Squad is one of the bands most important of Brazil, for sure I accepted this gig with great responsibility. I received an invitation through the drummer Amilcar, we talked about the band's life and routines and soon after that we started practicing a lot, four times a week as a matter of fact. In October 2015, we made our first appearance of shows with the hardcore band Worst. The shows demanding had increased so much since, that now I can consider normal to us doing 25 shows in 30 days for example...but all of this was only possible due to all hard work and the support of my bandmates. I’m gonna give my best ever for this great band.

MPAP: Rene Simionato, who took over on guitar duties, would also join at the same time as you? Did that take any pressure or nervousness away, knowing you weren’t going to be the only rookie in Torture Squad?

MAYARA: When I joined the band Andre Evaristo was still being guitarist of the band but shortly after he left. It was really nice to meet Rene, we grew in the same metal scene (A Region Called ABC on greatest São Paulo), and we played some gigs together with our previous bands. I did not feel pressured, but excitement because I knew that there was a lot of fresh blood in this new lineup!

MPAP: Before joining, by any chance had you heard of Torture Squad and their music before? What did you think, was it your style? Was it something you instantly knew right away you would be able to fit in and be a part of?

MAYARA: As I said before, Torture Squad was always one of the great giants of the Brazilian metal, and I was just a fan in their shows into mosh pits! Vitor Rodrigues has always been a huge influence on me, and we also became friends. He told me once that he would be happy to see me as lead singer of Torture Squad because he knew I would fit well in the band’s style very much. I have taken the responsibility with pride and have been growing and learning day by day.

MPAP: What did the other members think of you, were there open arms at first? What about the other most important thing, the fans? What did they think? Not everyone liked Sammy Hagar when he took over Van Halen, or Brian Johnson taking over AC/DC back in the day. There must have been at least one sleepless night, right?

MAYARA: I feel that the fans are happy in hearing the growling voice back to death metal again as trademark of the band. I try not to worry about what the others will say in fact, I won’t lose my sleep time thinking about it, I accept criticisms and praises and I always trying to give my best. Certainly, there are always those who like and dislike this and that, but it is absolutely natural. But it never intimidates me.

MPAP: Had any of the members of Torture Squad heard of you before? You were once in the band Necomesis. Is this how they had heard of you?

MAYARA: Yes, I was in the band Necromesis. Amilcar and Castor saw me once performing live with them before in one day when Necromesis and Guillotine (Rene's band) played together, and in that show Amilcar was invited to play drums in Guillotine. But my name came to their minds through a tip of my friend Fernanda Lira (Nervosa).

MPAP: When you joined, did you feel you had some big shoes to fill taking over on vocals for a band that already had two singers previously before you? Especially since one of the singers, Vitor Rodrigues, had started with the band and sang for them for 19 years?

MAYARA: Of course, it was a big responsibility, but Torture Squad always hired great musicians for the band, it reassured me, and I was confident that if they had chosen me I would be ready to make it!

MPAP: And one could assume, there were already a lot of roots established in the Torture Squad band, so it must have been hard and nerve wracking to take over on vocals right away? Fans, change, new surroundings, sometimes don’t mix.

MAYARA: I already knew the style of TortureSquad playing metal, they were a huge influence on my previous band Necromesis. I Never wanted to sound like the other vocalists, but I wanted to bring my style and add it to the identity of the band had established. My influences come from Death and Black metal, but this mixture had been worked very well with the band's sound!

MPAP: Then on top of that, to top it all off, you were taking over a band that was male-dominated and male vocals only before in all its history. How was that transition? Everything you expected?

MAYARA: They are looking for new vocalists…and…I’m a vocalist…haha! There’s no mystery to understand this. Everyone is capable to do what you want to do, you just need to keep focused on your plans, dreams…and practicing a lot to deserve it!

MPAP: So now that we’re getting to know you and your band, let’s now talk about your new music, Far Beyond Existence to be exact. Far Beyond Existence was just released on July 13th (Secret Service Records). It’s Torture Squad’s 8th studio album and your first full-length since joining the band? What can you tell us about it? What does everyone need to know? The platform is yours, tattoo it in ink in their heads.

MAYARA: I recorded my debut, Return Of Evil EP in 2016. Most of the songs on Far Beyond Existence were composed already before I joined in the band. We started working on the songs and I felt free to contribute with some arrangements, lyrics and also there are songs like "Cursed By Disease" which I did most of the riffs (I do really like to play guitar, but I do not play it very well ... but it's enough to write songs). I believe that this album is full of evil sides in some ways, we are getting more and more down and obscure in our sonority.

MPAP: What songs are you really looking forward to everyone hearing from it? Which one is going to hit them in the head like a rock?

MAYARA: I really like this album, and you can enjoy it in many ways. "Don’t Cross My Path" is the first track with so much aggression, invites you to get in the mosh pit. "Blood Sacrifice" and "Cursed By Disease" brings a death metal maleficent and dense, with a catchy chorus. "Hero For The Ages" is also one of my favorite songs, has a very strong energy and lyrics with full wisdom inspired on the master Bruce Lee!

MPAP: Do you have any personal favorites? If you had to pick one, which one would stand out like a hammer to the head pounding in a rusty nail?…Hopefully, everyone listening to it is up to date on their shots.

MAYARA: It's hard to choose but I would say that "Blood Sacrifice" is my favorite. When I wrote the lyrics, I entered into deep connection with Kali’ s entity and every time I sing this song it turns very special to me!

MPAP: Then after your fans, old and new, listen to Far Beyond Existence, what are you hoping they walk away with? What’s one thing that will stand out and make you happy if they say it?

MAYARA: Our fans are coming out to our shows and know the new songs already, singing along to the choruses and asking for some other new songs in the set list. The new songs are fitting very well with the old songs.

MPAP: Is there any experience you hope they feel while listening to it, or even when they might read the lyrics to one or any of your songs?

MAYARA: First of all, I hope they break your necks! And if the listener entered into our lyrics, they can find doors to expand their thoughts far beyond that existence!

MPAP: Even though you weren’t a part of it, in your opinion, how do you feel Torture Squad has grown as a band since 1998s Shivering, to Far Beyond Existence? Is it even possible to compare after all the time and the line-up changes?

MAYARA: I feel that the essence of Torture Squad remains the same, we are free to make up our minds and it goes according to our feelings. It’ s common during the compositions and rehearsals we create a riff and yelling "Wow! This is too much Torture Squad!" Because even if we create new stuff, we kept our identity already established by the band, over all these years. Musicians over 24 years on the road now gathering techniques and experiences and being confident on what they do!

MPAP: The cover artwork to Far Beyond Existence was done by Rafael Tavares? How did you get him on board to do it? Is it an original artwork done just for the band, or did you happen to see it somewhere and had to have it incorporated as your cover? So, when someone sees the cover, that new listener, what do you want that person to get from it? Is there a message behind it all?

MAYARA: We were looking for an artist to make the cover art and I was very happy when Rafael showed up interested in working with us. He has an obscure world from each trace he’s doing, the cover art of Far Beyond Existence born from that same environment. When you see the cd cover you are teleported to another world where the minds are free to find out true enlightenment and wisdom!

MPAP: A lot has been going on in the music world lately. Terrorists are attacking music venues that have large gatherings, with their actions resulting in unnecessary deaths. The Bataclan (November 2015) had 89 deaths, and the Manchester (May 2017) attack resulted in 22 deaths. Even Rock am Ring, a big music festival in Nuremberg, Germany this year was shut down for a day due to terror warnings. And then, just recently you have the terrible mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada killing 58 concertgoers and injuring over 500. Music is a way to escape reality, not something you’re supposed to die for. What are your thoughts on all of this?

MAYARA: Unfortunately, there are people in the world who do not accept the unique right that every human being has to live his life in the way that satisfies them. Human beings are blinded by their egos and they don't evolve and understand other things out there...we talk a lot about it in our lyrics. We need to take the blindfold from our eyes and see. It’s sad to know that this war comes under the name of a god who was created to justify the interests of those who command these atrocities.

MPAP: Do you feel you could fear for your life trying to do something you love to do?

MAYARA: Our friends of Krisiun and Nervochaos were banished from playing and entering into the country of Bangladesh recently, they were considered Satanic. This is very sad because there were hundreds of fans waiting for them to enjoy their music there. You can be sure that they, like us, are playing metal because it is part of our way of life, and that only gives us more courage to continue, even though it seems no hope for this world. We are free spirits, and this will remain beyond this existence!

MPAP: Before we bring this interview to a close, what’s next for Torture Squad? What can your diehard fans expect in the near future?

MAYARA: We are always making up new stuff and 2018 will be full of tours around the world and we will announce it soon. We also have plans to release new music videos.

MPAP: On behalf of myself, and Metal Pulp And Paper, I’d like to thank you, Mayara, for being a part of this interview. It was a pleasure. I look forward to what Torture Squad does for the rest of 2017 and beyond.

Any last words you’d like to tell everyone out there reading this?

MAYARA: I really enjoyed answering this interview, thank you very much for all attention and patience! I hope you enjoy our new cd and identify yourself with our songs and way of living as a headbanger!